Frustration

On top of the stress of sending the eldest duckling to college, and the fact that he’s behaving like an ingrate, he also had a traffic accident the evening before he left for school. No tickets were given, and the ‘contributing circumstances’ on the police report show that the other driver was inattentive, and was following too closely.

The police report showing that information is a GOOD thing……except the other driver DIDN’T HAVE ANY INSURANCE. That’s right. No insurance. Well……let me revamp…..he has insurance NOW, because he or somebody on his behalf obtained coverage for him 17 MINUTES AFTER THE CRASH.

And there is no ‘retroactive’ coverage….so if he wasn’t covered at the moment of the accident, HE WASN’T COVERED. Despite his efforts to cover his ASS…it would appear that we are stuck with the bill.

Yeah…good times ABOUND this week.

I am terribly frustrated. Eldest duckling has no car, therefore no way to obtain a job. He has some speeding tickets, so his insurance is OUTRAGEOUS, so we covered him with liability ONLY, because of the cost, so of course, our coverage doesn’t repair his car even with the fact the other dude isn’t insured.

I am trying not to cry. The bill is $2266.46. I don’t have it. I know that eldest duckling should hold some responsibility for his own vehicle, but…with no job…….he doesn’t have it either.

The person that hit him is a young man as well. I halfway want to report everything to the proper departments and have his license REVOKED and then sue him for the amount of repairs if he doesn’t pay for them. But the mom half of me feels bad for the kid…I’m sure he doesn’t have a dime to his name either……and to take his license and to obtain a legal judgement on him would be hard on HIM too…….

The thing that bothers me the most is that he’s fraudulently trying to appear as if he had insurance. But he got it AFTER THE FACT of the accident. This makes me think he’s not quite on the up and up……..

We can have just the suspension fixed and leave the dented/scratched bumper and fender cover for much less. But the investment that grandpa made for a lovely vehicle for the kid will be totally devalued if that happens. But even the suspension fix, which is necessary for driving, is $1000.00, which is as bad as the $2200 to have it fixed. If I don’t have it, it doesn’t matter if it’s $1000.00 or $10,000.00 in the moment.

Obviously in the long haul, the smaller amounts are easier to swallow, BUT……..it still sucks. Sucks.

And speaking of things that suck….Mr. Perfectly has gotten word that he (and every one else, we assume) is being denied access to the football field sidelines this year. Every year since The oldest has been in 6th grade, Mr P. has maintained a sports blog with photos and info for the kids sports endeavors. For some reason they aren’t letting him take his normal, awesome sideline photos. We’ve not been given a reason why, either, which I find strange.

I don’t know why, but it seems like I always end up sounding like a whiny, negative Nellie. I’m sorry if that’s how I come off…..I try to stay positive, but some weeks just stink.

Happy Friday---toodles for now.

It's Back!! Drunken Ghost Hunter's Wednesday's!!!

Yep.....that's right!!! Ghost Hunters is supposed to begin airing it's new season TONIGHT. I can't wait. It's been a nerve wracking few days, and it will be enjoyable to sit down, with a glass of wine and watch the guys try to catch ghosts.

It'll be doubly nice, because the plan for dinner is BLT sandwiches which aren't terribly taxing. Easy and wine are the theme for this evening's dinner and entertainment.

I dont' have much to add today. It's been a relatively quiet day---not much drama, or anything out of the ordinary.

I hadn't mentioned that on top of the college drama, son #1 had an accident on Friday evening. One would think by looking at the car that it may not be damaged too much, BUT when driven, it's all swimmy and shimmying.......like the suspension is damaged. I suppose there is some DRAMA in that story---because of course, I don't want MAH BABY to be at fault, but that is what it's looking like...........so I've been a little worked up over the outcome of the accident. And hoping beyond HOPE that the repairs will be able to be paid in payments. I dont' know if the shop will do that for us or not, but I've asked. The owner said he'd see what the damages are to the car, and we'd see what we could work out. I take that to be a positive sign.

I've been wanting peanut butter cookies with M & M's in them. I bought some at a local farmer's market a few weeks back and they were GOOD. I just don't want to mess with making them......I want some to just appear....fresh, hot, yummy cookies.

I'm out of here for now. We'll talk ghosts tomorrow, if the hunters find any..

toodles for now.

Moved In

No. I'm not obsessive over my baby being gone. Nope. I'm doing just fine. Fine...you hear me? FINE.

I don't call him or text him very often. Really, I don't. He doesn't complain over the frequency either. He's polite like that.

this is his dorm room...that will stay neat...you know, because he's a responsible young man.....

He'll manage to get up tomorrow for his classes at 8 am, too...I'm SURE of it. Again, that inherent responsiblity.

The Zoo I call Life

I live in a nutty, nutty world.

I'd like to point out a few things that are CRAZY in my life. I don't do bullet points, so y'all will have to deal with it my way...the not computer literate way.

1) My oldest son (whose now in college) doesn't want to talk to me. Unless he needs something. Like how to bake a frozen pizza without a pan. THE INSTRUCTIONS SAY HE NEEDS A PAN...HE DOESN'T HAVE A PIZZA PAN. What should he do? Can he bake it right on the rack? AM I SURE IT WILL BE OKAY BAKED RIGHT ON THE RACK??? Really sure????

2) Despite the fact college boy didn't want to converse with me, I decided to call him back to check the result of the pizza being baked on the rack instead of IN A PAN. And to make sure he turned off the oven and wasn't burning the dorm down on night #2. He was harried and out of breath when I reached him. He was freaked out because he didn't have any way to get the PIZZA OUT OF THE OVEN. He didn't have an OVEN MITT. I wanted to tell him to man up....that Bobby Flay just pulls crap out of pans and ovens with his BARE HANDS.......but instead of paying for a hospital co-pay, I reminded him that he had brand new hand towels in his room that he could use in lieu of an OVEN MITT.

3) When waiting to check him in to the dorm (prior to being able to move in), I sat next to a girl who'd apparently been waiting longer than she wished to for her turn to check in. She commented very softly that the people BEFORE the ones in the room at that time were there for 45 MINUTES. And she sighed real big. She kept talking in this little tiny mousey voice....I never could hear her....and after asking her to repeat herself several times, I just got up and left. I still was never sure if she was talking to me or to herself.

4) When moving son #1 INTO his dorm room, he was totally appalled that I was not going to be carrying his stuff into his room for him while he unpacked his clothing from a suitcase. He couldn't understand WHY he had to carry all that stuff in when he had UNPACKING to do.

5) My husband walked into the bathroom to put something away for Son #1, and encountered one of the OTHER guys from the OTHER room using their shared bathroom......yeah...dude..we'll shake hands later........sorry for the AWKWARD moment!! Learn to lock common doors before you take a whiz.

6) After a week of loud arguing, and packing and me freaking out over the move to the dorm....we left. We were on the road....I texted son #2 to let him know we were on the way to the college. He was at football Practice, and I thought it to be a nice mom thing to do to let him know we were leaving town. So I texted something like " We are on the way to Moberly....see you later!!". His response? "What are you doing there?". Seriously..........did you miss the fact that your brother graduated, packed and moved out of the house? That the shouting wasn't all for fun?

7) Today, Son #1 texted me asking me for some information regarding his internet access.....I called him (because texting is a pain in the ass), and he was annoyed to be talking to me. I gave him the place where he needed to go, and tried to talk to him and was met with a resounding "I don't want to talk to you!!", and a hang up. Literally a minute later a text from him came through "What room did you say it was?". If I wasn't such a wuss, I'd have said "you didn't want to TALK TO ME....remember??". But of course, I didn't. I saved his ass and gave him the info.


I am sad, nervous and wished he could live me forever. I'm also worried that somehow he WILL live with me forever. I don't understand how our lives seem so crazy when other's seem quite normal and easy.

Maybe other people have the same things happen to them........they just hide it and live the percieved 'perfect life' that I wish for. I swear........it's amazing that he managed to get out of his room by himself.........but yet he's old enough to hold a cigarette, or if ever drafted a freaking GUN.......it amazes me that people so young are expected to SURVIVE. It's scary, people.

Toodles for now.

SO MUCH on my MIND

My baby leaves for college tomorrow. It’s been a rough few months. He’s been less than gracious in his attitude, and it makes me want to SCREAM. Yet he’s my son, and I adore him, and I tend to go overboard to try to smooth things over. This upsets Mr. P to no end. Which causes the cycle to go around and around and around.

Son #1 has always been VERY demanding, strong willed and difficult. He also can be loving and understanding. He’s funny and handsome. For whatever reason, he feels he’s entitled, and there’s no making him understand our point of view. Our family has gone overboard in their quest to make his transition from a teen living at home, to a young man entering college a smooth one. His grandparents have purchased nearly EVERYTHING he needs to set up his dorm room……….we’ve bought a refrigerator and all his life necessities. Yet, he’s balking at the task of cleaning his room and clearing out the 9 or 10 baskets of LAUNDRY that he has scattered around his tiny little room. His room will remain his, but I want the room to be neat and orderly so we don’t have to keep the door shut all the time.

I want guests to sleep there (should we ever have any), and I want him to have a cozy, CLEAN place he can come to when he returns home. He swears it will be done, but he’s not moving an inch to work on it, so the frustration is mounting. All he cares about is partying and making sure his move is bought and paid for. By us. Our effort. Our money. And our time. He doesn’t want to give anything or show any appreciation. It’s a vicious, ugly circle right now.

Then yesterday, I went for a pedicure, and had a good one for once. The little girl actually used one of those razor things on my heels to scrape all the dead skin from them. The foot and leg massage were quite lovely, and my purple toenails are so cute. I have tiny stubby toes, with tiny stubby toenails. My feet are very small—as in short. But they are chubby and I have a high instep, so shoes are a bitch for me to find. A high instep, double wide size 6? It ain’t happening.

The little girl doing the pedicure looked at me and immediately suggested I get my brows waxed…..nice. Is it a sales pitch or are my gnarly brows really THAT bad? I suspect it’s an even combination of the two. After my toes were done, I went into the BACK room for my brow waxing. I laid on a table, where the female version of Tony Soprano took hold of my forehead and whipped my head around like nobody’s business. Commenting “oh wow” when I was laid back for a good view. She roughly applied the wax and put so much pressure on the fabric strips, that I thought most certainly my eyeballs would pop out of the socket! Amidst the flurry of head and neck whipping to rid my face of rogue eyebrow hair, she muttered “LIP?” while she was ripping hair out of my brows. I declined. I can’t decide if I’m THAT hairy, or if these people were into sales in a MAJOR way? She managed to wax my brows, and give me a mirror for a short peek in a span of ……oh, I don’t know……3 minutes? No Joke……it was the quickest brow wax EVER!!!!!! All in all, it wasn’t a bad job, either………but she was a LITTLE rough.

Mr. P and I then went to the NEW Wal-Mart Supercenter to buy son #1’s stuff for his new life. Son #1, of course, didn’t want to join us. We wandered around and around that store trying to no overbuy…which for us is a difficult task. Mr. Entitlement had called ‘dibs’ on the hair cutting clippers that we have. He keeps his hair cropped short----and just assumed that he’d get the clippers. Not thinking or caring that Mr. P, who also keep his hair cropped short, may need them as well. So, Mr. P just bought himself a new set in a nice carrying case. Son #1 can have the old ones…..that have all the pieces scattered in a shoe box.

We then went home and had frozen pizza and watched the exciting episode of ‘Big Brother’ on CBS. I’m a reality show junkie……and Big Brother is one of my favorites……unfortunately. I tried to pick up some of the trash littering son “#1’s room, but got bored quickly of that task and quit.

I realize much of my stress is self imposed. I want everything to be ‘perfect’ and I want my son, Beaver, to happily skip off to school, and want his mom to help him get all set up in his room….to help him buy books, and then go out to dinner and have a lovely send off for his high achieving goals to be reached in college.

Instead, it’s a scene from a bad teen movie. Harried parents trying to please angst-ridden son who JUST WANTS THEM TO LEAVE ALREADY…so he can find the first and nearest PARTAY……forget dinner, forget cute bedding sets…and stocking his brand new fridge..JUST LEAVE SO HE CAN GET DRUNK!!!!!!!!!! Don’t tell him how to prevent swine flu……..he wants to get with his new found dorm buddies and discuss hangover remedies!!

I’m sad, nervous and quite anxious over this endeavor. Wish me luck, and if anyone wants to come help with the move, and to corral an angst ridden teen who thinks his parents are lame…..come on. We could use the help.

Happy Friday……………we’ll see how mom survives today…..Friday…her FAVORITE day (normally).

Toodles for now.

Floppy

I do not know why I choose one of the hottest days of the Summer to be in the mood to cook. I get sweaty and huffy when it's hot and I'm cooking, but the OUTCOME is usually so awesome.

I am making clam chowder for dinner. I know....traditionally, folks don't eat steaming hot bowls of rich soup in the middle of summer, but it sounds good. With crusty bread or crackers? MMMMMMMMM

I am also making salsa. I have some beyond able to use in anything else tomatoes and peppers, so salsa it is. Mr. P. loves my salsa, and I've not made any at all this summer, so this will be a treat.

I am a little slow on the draw regarding jokes and humor. I tend to not get jokes and am unable to deliver them AT ALL. I am not quick with the comeback, or witty on a dime. However, I do crack myself up sometimes. This isn't a difficult task, but somehow nobody else seems to appreciate my own brand of humor.

When I was a little girl in Des Moines, Ia., there was a local afternoon kids program called FLOPPY. It was every kid's dream to be on Floppy. When I was 6 or 7, my cute, blond self was ON THE FLOPPY SHOW. My allergies had apparently kicked in, and I spend most of the show wiping my nose on the hem of my totally rad 70's polyester dress. Yep, my 15 minutes of fame consisted of snot and embarassing my family.

Anyway, 35 years later, my beautiful mommy brought me a FLOPPY t-shirt when she was here recently. I love it. It's too big and comfy. I wear my sloppy t-shirt to the grocery store and around the house. Mr. P brought it to my attention, that with folks here in Missouri not knowing about Duane Elliott and Floppy, it may be regarded as a testament to my breasts. Yeah....again....me and Floppy doin' myself proud.

So, I'm off to the grocery......to shop for my soup and salsa, and me and Floppy will be strutting PROUDLY through the aisles.

See you there!!

Artsy News!!!

So.....remember Mr. P's Worldwide Photo Walks he went on a couple of weeks ago? One in Columbia, MO., and and one at the Lake of the Ozarks, MO.???? The object of this was to have as many communities that wanted to participate in a photo walk all on the same day.

Each participant submitted their two favorite photos to the local walk co-ordinator. They and/or the ones deemed in charge chose their favorite shot of the whole group and that shot will be submitted to the WORLDWIDE contest of photos. I showed you here the photos that Mr. P submitted to each walk.

He got notification on Friday that one of his photos from the Lake Walk was chosen to be submitted to the WORLDWIDE contest. AND, his second photo, was chosen for an honorable mention. The Honorable Mention photos don't get anything, but it's still a testament to his ability, I think!!!

So, go check it out! The winning photo from the Lake is the "Lonely Bumper Car" and the "Skee Ball" was the honorable mention. Personally, my favorite was the 'Skee Ball', but I think his was the 'Lonely Bumper Car".

He won a digital photography book and an 8x10 print of his winning photo.

He's over the moon with excitement. This is something he LOVES, and although family and friends all love his photos, this is just an additional boost to his own knowledge that he's good.

He's not heard from the Columbia, MO. walk coordinator. He feels like he won't win anything there.......although I don't know why, but that's the sense that he personally has. But it really doesn't matter, because one of HIS photos will be submitted to the WORLDWIDE walk contest. That is just too cool for words.

Go Mr. P!!!!!!

Go the Artsy post and check them out. Which is YOUR favorite?

Toodles for now.